BIg Brother 8 FInale: Did the Best Donato Win?

After 81 days, last night CBS' voyeuristic summer reality show, Big Brother, aired its finale.

This year's installment, called Big Brother 8, featured the usual mundane tasks and twists-- stuff like really boring houseguest trivia and endurance challenges that tempted viewers to subscribe to the live feeds that are offered. In the end, an estranged father and daughter duo made it to the final two, vying for the grand prize of $500,000. This was after a lot of backstabbing and bad behavior that left me scratching my head and wondering how the other houseguests let these two make it to the end.

The dynamic duo, Dick and Daniele Donato, definitely won their share of challenges. In fact, Daniele won 5 Power of Veto competitions, putting her up there in the ranks with beloved Big Brother All Star alum Janelle Pierzina. And her father Dick, known as Evel, was crowned the Head of Household twice.

It must stink to have a Dad whose nickname is Evel. It opens you up for all kinds of "Evel spawn" jokes. And, when it came down to the jurors voting for who should take home the grand prize, Daniele lost out to her Evel Daddy (although, as I said in my previous article, I think he will undoubtedly take care of her).

So did the best Donato win? It seems as though some of the jurors felt that Daniele rode on her Daddy's coattails a bit. Her immaturity, temper tantrums and whiny outbursts also hurt her. While she tried to appear warm and compassionate in her taped "goodbye" messages to the exiting houseguests, she often ended with a grin or a giggle, making it appear insincere. She was also crucified for starting up a showmance with fellow housemate Nick, even though she has a live-in boyfriend back home. Since there was no sign of her boyfriend Chris at last night's finale, it's safe to assume that he has packed up and moved on. Looks like Daniele may have lost more than just the grand prize, although she looked awfully cozy in Nick's arms during the live show last night.